Driving mechanism for amusement devices



June 12, 1928. 1,672,959 4 A. SPILLMAN DRIVING MECHANISM FOR AMUSEMENT DEVICES Filed Nov. 26, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 J llvvfiI-N TOR ALBERT SFILLMAN June 12, 1928.

- A. SPPLLMIAN DRIViNG MECHANISM FOR- AMUSEMENT DEVICES Filed Nov. 26, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet INVENTQH ALBERTSP/LL I AN Patented 1.... 12, 1928.

UN T ST ALBERT SPILLMAN,

or NORTH TONAW'ANDA, NEW YORK.

DRIVING MECHANISM FOR AMUSEMENT DEVICES.

1 Application filed November 26, 1926. SerialNo. 150,915.

My invention relates to improvements in driving mechanismsfor. amusement devices of the type wherein an endless cable is used asa propulsion means and the object of the invention is to construct a cable carrying and driving mechanism which will retain a pre: determined tension upon the cable a at all times during the operation of the amusement device, and afurther object of the invention is to' provide a pair of pulleys around which one of the pulleys is carried-being swingably mounted in respect to the other pulley in such a manner that it may be swung into any desired adjusted position to conform with the available space upon, which the amusement device. is being erected WltllOlltJlQCBS- sit-ating any alteration in length of the endless driving cable. A still further-object of my invention is to actuate the driving; cable carrying pulley of my mechanism from'its inner periphery instead of mounting it upon the driving shaft so that the driving strains are reduced to aininimum and the rotative speed of such driving pulley 'suitably reduced withoutthe necessity of incorporating a reduction gearing, and another object of my invention is to so construct thesupporting frame of my drivingmechanism that it can be incorporated as part of the understructure of the amusement" device.

My invention consists of an amusement device constructed and arranged all as hereinafter more particularly described-and illustrated' in the accompanying drawing in which: i 1

Fig. .1 is a plan view of my driving mech anism showin in dottedlines the frame upon which the idler pulley isnrounted swung intoanother adjusted position. Fig- 2 is a cross sectional view taken through the line 2-42 Figure 1, the driving pulley and clutch mechanism being shown in section. 1

Fig. 3 is a reduced longitudinal sectional view taken through the line 3-3-Figure 1, and, i 1.. i

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view taken through the drivin viewof the clutch. Like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different views. The supporting frame of my driving mechanism is primarily designed to be inserted into and constitute partof the under structure of the amusement deviceto which it is attached,.the, transverse angle iron 1.

g shaft, showinga plan usual practice.

being provided with bolt holes 2 at each end to permit itbeing inserted as one of a number of similar angle irons which constitute part of the under-structure. 3 are a pair of angle irons each depending from the vicinity of one end of the angle iron 1 and constituting in conjunction with a lower horizontal angle iron 4 a rectangular frame, the

angle irons being suitably secured together in the usual manner by means ofrivets 5. Upon the outer ends of the lower horizontal angle iron L1 provide hooks 6 which are adapted to be seated upon truss members of 'the under-structure which are not shown as they form no part of the present invention. 7 is a second angle iron adapted to be inserted as one of a number of similar angle irons onthe under-structure of the amusementdevice and situated in parallel relation to the angle iron 1, its ends terminating at and being-supported by a pair of tubular under-structure standards 8 and 9.

Upon the inner face of the angle irons 1 and 4 intermediately of their-length I positiona pair of upper and lower bearing blocks 10 and 11 which are in vertical alignment and secured to the respective angle irons by means of bolts 12. 14 is a shaft journalled in the bearing blocks 10 and 11-, being retained in position by suitably positioned collars 15. the shaft 141 provide a cable driving pulley 16, such pulley being secured upon the shaft and retained in position by means of a key 1 17. The driving pulley 16 is so constructed that its interior peripheral face constitutes an.

internal gear, gear teeth 19 being furnished. For driving the pulley I provide a inion 20 which is positioned interiorly t ereof in engagement with itsteeth 19, such inion 20 being secured upon the upper an of a vertically extending shaft 21 which is rotatably mounted in a pair of vertically aligned upper and lower bearing blocks 22 and 23 which are positioned upon the inner faces of the angle irons 1. and inasimilar Upon the upper end of.

manner to the bearings 10 and 11, the shaft being retained in position by means of a plurality of collars 24 which are mounted and secured thereon in the manner following For rotating and controlling the rotation ofthe shaft .21 Iuse a clutch mechanism which I shall now describe.

25 is a sleeve mounted upon the lower end of the -shaft 21 immediatelyabove the upper face of the angle iron 4 and supported by means of a ball race 26 mounted on top of the bearing block 23, and 27 is a belt pulley secured upon the sleeve 25 1ntermediately of its height and adapted to be driven by means of a belt from the source of power for actuating the amusement device. Upon the upper end of the sleeve an integral clutch drum 28 is formed and adapted to be surrounded by a split clutch ring 29 which is of course suitably lined to grip the clutch drum surface. For bringing the clutch ring 29 into and out of engagement with the drum 28 I furnish a pair of swingable arms 30 which are pivotally secured upon a ring 31 which is keyed upon the shaft 21 above the drum 28. The ring 31 is furnished with two pairs of radially extending diametrically opposed lugs 32 between which the arms 30 are positioned, being mounted upon pins 33 which extend between the lugs. Upon the lower ends of the arms 30 I furnish pivotally mounted clutch shoes 3 1 which are secured to the clutch ring 29 in any suitable manner. In the vicinity of the upper end of the shaft 21 Iprovidc a sleeve 35 freely mounted upon the shaft and furnished at its upper end with apair of spaced apart flanges 36 and 37 which constitute with the surface of the sleeve therebetween a groove in which I position a split collar 38, such collar being formed of two semi-circular parts and held together by means'of bolts 39 which pass through lugsformed at the butting faces. 40

r is a longitudinal shaft extending along one side of the drivesupporting frame provided in the vicinity of one end with an actuating handle 41 by means of which the shaft 40 can be partially rotated. Upon the shaft 40 I furnish an arm 42 which extends inwardly in a normal transverse direction towards the clutch mechanism its inner end being pivotally connected to an upwardly extending link 43, the upper end thereof being pivotally connected intcrmediately. of the length of a horizontal lever 44 which has its outer end pivotally mounted upon the lower end of a depending bracket 45 mounted upon the angle iron 1, its inner end being bifurcated and extending about the collar 38. The collar 38 is provided with a pair of radially extending diametrically opposed trunnions 46 which are adaptedto project into a pair of slots 17 provided in the outer ends of such bifurcated portion. Upon the lower end of the sleeve 35 two pairs of oppositely positioned lugs 58 are formed, each pair bemg adapted to receive one of the inner ends of a pair of link members 49 which connect the upper ends of the arms 30 with the sleeve 35. These link members are pivotally connected to both the lugs 48 and the upper ends of the arms 30, pins 50 and 51 being provided for this purpose. It will also be seen that these links are of the adjustable type so that friction wear in the faces of the clutch may be readily and quickly taken up.

For providing a mounting for the idler pulley 52 I provide a framewhich is pivotally mounted upon the shaft 14 and con structed in the following manner. 53 is a. bearing block of substantially rectangular formation and freely mounted upon the shaft 14 in the vicinity of its upper end, being positioned just below the angle iron 1 and supported upon a collar 54. 55 are a pair of channel irons which extend. out-- wardly from the ends of the block 53,'the inner ends of the'channels being positioned about the ends of the block and secured in'place by studs 56. The channels 55 are of course of equal length and lie in parallel relation, being connected in the vicinity of their outer ends by means of a cross block 57 the ends of which enter the channels and are secured in place by means of rivets 58.

For sup orting the idler pulley 52 I provide a. sli e block 59 which is supported by and mounted between the pair of channels 55, such channels formin a track, and 60 is a boss extending'upwar ly from the upper face of the block 59 and adapted to contain the lower end of a stub shaft 61 upon which the idler pulley 52 is freely mounted. A second slide block 62 is also supported between the pair of channels'55 and is positioned exteriorly of the cross blocks 57, and 63 area pair of helical springs which extend between the slide block 62 and the cross block 57, the ends of such springs being supported upon suitably positioned bosses 64. For holding the slide block 59 and the idler pulle 52 in their adjusted spaced relation to t e driving pullev 16 I furnish a longitudinally extending'shaft 65 which is centrally positioned between the pair of angle irons 55, freely passing through aligned orifices 66 and 67in the respective blocks 57 and 62. The inner end of the shaft 65 is threaded and adapted to be screwed into an internally threaded boss 68 which is provided upon the forward face of the slide block 59, the interior of the slide block being furnished with a recess 69 into which the inner end of the shaft 65 enters when it is screwed through the boss 68. 70 is a hand wheel secured upon the outer end of the shaft,- a boss 71 being formed upon its inner face, a ball race 72 being constituted between the face of such boss and the face of a boss 73 formed on the outer face of the slide block 67.

The driving cable 74 is of the endless type and is wound around the pulleys in the following manner, reference being made to Figure 1. When the cable leaves the mechanism of the amusement device it passes onto the pulle 16 in a clockwise directionand extends rom thence onto and around the far side of the idler pulley 52 from where Inn gamete itpasses again onto the drivingpulley 16 passing around the far side thereof for a second time and extending back onto the idlerpulley 52-from where it passes par tially aroi lnd the driving pulley 16 and back onto the driving mechanism of the amusement device. By this winding it will be understood that the cable passes twice around the far side of each of the pulleys. p

The operation of my device is as follows: When the amusement device is being assembled the driving mechanism supporting frame is inserted into the nuclei-structure and forms a part thereof, the cable of course being slack so as not to' interfere with the process of assembly. WVhen the amusement device has been assembled and it is desired to put it into operation the driving belt is connected between the driving pulley 27 and the source of power and the cable tightened up. The tightening up of the cable is achieved by turningthe hand wheel and shaft-65 which is threaded into the boss 68 011 the slide block 59 so that the idler through theabutment of the hand wheel 70. against the slide block 62 which is in turn held against inward movement by the springs 63 it will be seen that such springs will be compressed as the cable becomes taut and will thus have a cushioning effect in keeping the Cable taut irrespective of any irregularity in the mechanism over which the cable travels. If it is known that the tautness of the cable varies to a consider able extent when the device is in motion the shaft 65 can be screwed to a further degree so that a greater compression of the springs 63 is obtained. As before mentioned it will be understood that any movement of the slide block 59 under the influence of the springs will be magnified approximately four times in the tightening of the cable.

Upon reference to Figure 1 it will be seen that the frame carryingthe idler pulley 52 can be swung about the shaft 14 into any desired inclination to suit the conditions under which the device is being erected as the outer end of such frame rests on the angle iron 7 and that such changing of position will in no way alter the tension upon the cable or the surface engagement between the cable and the driving pulley as the reduc tion of engaging surface between the cable and one peripheral side of the driving pul leyley will be compensated for by the addiparticular tiorrof en aging surface between the cable and the ot er peripheral side of the pulley.

Assuming that the source of power is in motion and the clutch disengaged the pulley 27 rotating under the influence of the connecting belt it willbe appreciated that as the pulley is secured upon the sleeve 25, such sleeve and the clutch drum 28 will rotate upon the shaft 21, the shaft, pinion 22, pulley 16 and the cable being of course station ary. When it is desired to actuate the amusement devicethe handle 41 is swung in an anticlockwise direction so that theshaft 40 is partially rotated moving the arm 42 downwardly in an anticlockwise direction, such movement being transmited through I the link 43 to the lever 44 which will swing downwardly about its pivotal connection upon the bracket 45. As the bifurcated end of the lever {14 swings downwardly it will through the medium of the trunnions 46 engaging the slots 47 in such ends move the sleeve 35" downwardly and as such sleeve is connected to the upper end of the arms 30 by means ofthe links 49 such upper ends will moveoutwardly with the consequent inward movement of the lower ends and the engagement of the clutch ring 29 with the clutch drum 28. l nmediately this occurs the ring 31 and the arms 30 will be rotated by the clutch drum 28.and as such ring 31 is keyedupon the shaft 21 it will also rotate, rotating the pinion 20 and the pulley wheel 19 which is geared thereto and thus driving the cable. .When it is desired to stop the motion of the amusementdevice the handle 41is swung in a clockwise direction causing the arm 44 to swing upwardly and the upper ends of the arms 30 to swing inwardlywith the resultant outward movement of the lower ends and the disengagement of the clutch. rings 29 from .the drum 28 which will of course permit the sleeve 25 and driving belt carrying pulley 27 to.rotate freely upon the shaft 21. As the amusement device will retain considerable momentum when the clutch is disengaged I fur-. nish a brake drum upon the shaft 14 to which the driving pulley 16 is secured, and 76 is a brake band surrounding such drum being capable of actuation by means of a swingable arm 77 having its lower end swingably mounted upon the pin 78 which is mounted upon the angle iron 4 and its upper end connected to a manually operated pull. rod 79.

Upon reference to the cross sectional View of the driving pulley 16 as shown in Figure 2 it will be seen that I have wound lengths of rope 80 upon the inner face of the cable carrying groove 81. These consist of four lengths tightly wound around the inner face and having their ends spliced together, the driving cable of course lying in the Vs formed between the ropes, it being readily appreciated that this provision provides a frictional surface which will obviate any possibility of the cable slipping.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that I have devised a very simple and eflicient form of cable driving mechanism in which any driving strains are obviated as the driving pinion 20 engages the periphery of the cable driving pulley 16, thus obviating stresses which would occur it the pulley carrying shaft 14 constituted the driving means. Furthermore by swingably mounting the frame carrying the idler pulley 52 I have provided a means whereby the driving mechanism can be adjusted tosuit the particular requirements of .the location upon which the amusement device is being erected \Vhat I claim as my invention is:

1. In a cable drive mechanism for amusement devices, an endless cable, a driving pulley and an idler pulley around which the cable extends, means for adjusting the spaced relation between the pulleys and the tension upon the cable, resilient means for retaining the pulleys in their adjusted spaced relation, an internal gear formed upon the inner peripheral face of the driving pulley, a structure upon which the driving and idler pulleys are rotatably mounted, and a driving shaft rotatably mounted upon the structure and having a pinion thereon adapted to engage and rotate the cable driving pulley.

2. In a cable drive mechanism for amusement devices, an endless cable, a fixed structure, a shaft mounted upon said structure, a cable driving pulley mounted upon the shaft and having an internal gear formed ipon its inner peripheral face, a second structure swingably mounted upon the driving pulley supporting shaft, an idler pulley freely mounted upon the swin able structure and around which the czfile also extends, a driving shaft mounted upon the fixed structure, a pinion secured upon the driving shaft and adapted to engage and rotate the cable driving pulley, and means whereby the pivotal mounting ot'the sec- 0nd structure upon the driving pulley sup- )ortlng shaft permits the idler pulley to be swung in an arc about the driving pulley without altering the tension upon the driving cable.

In a cable drive mechanism for amusement devices, an endless cable, a'driving pulley and an idler pulley around which the cable extends, a fixed structure upon which the driving pulley rotatably mounted, a second structure pivotally mounted upon the lived structure and swingable in an are about the driving pulley, a block slidably mounted upon the second structure, the said idler pulley being rotatably mounted upcn the block, means for sliding the block to august the spaced. relation between the pulleys and tension 'upon the cable, and resilient means tending to move the idler pulley away from the driving pulley to retain the tension upon the cable.

-ll. In :1 cable drive mechanism for amusement devices, a driving pulley, an idler pulley lying in the same plane as the driving pulley, an endless driving cable extending around the pulleys, a fixed structure upon which the driving pulley is rotatably mounted, a second structure upon which the idler pulley is rotatably and slidably mounted, and means whereby the second structure pivotally mounted upon the stationary structure so that the idler pulley can be swung in an arc, of which the driving pulley is the center.

. ALBERT SPILLMAN. 

